Chapter 43 Chapter 43: Evil will be punished, good will be rewarded, evil will be...
Things are much simpler afterwards.
Huang Furen immediately took his men to take him to the government office.
The county government office hasn't been this lively for a long time.
The crowd that came to join in the fun packed the entrance, three layers deep inside and three layers deep outside, shoulder to shoulder, making it quite lively.
Huang Furen had heard that Shopkeeper Liu had a close relationship with the county magistrate, so he deliberately made a big deal out of it along the way so that the county magistrate would not be able to make a big deal out of a small matter or a small matter out of nothing.
"I greet the county magistrate."
Huang Furen recounted his experiences today, leaving out every detail, and then he clasped his fists and said:
"Today, I have been wrongly accused. I hope you will see clearly!"
Cui Han sat upright, appearing fair and selfless on the surface, but secretly he had his own plans.
He was aware of what Shopkeeper Liu did in daily life, but because he gave him a lot of filial piety, Cui Han turned a blind eye to it.
"I know the character of Shopkeeper Liu. I wonder if there's some misunderstanding here."
When Manager Liu heard that Cui Han was obviously trying to help him, he straightened his back.
"Yes! It's a misunderstanding! It's all a misunderstanding!"
Huang Furen knew they were colluding with each other, so he immediately sent his men to present the box of fake ginseng and the contract that fortunately had not been signed in time to the court.
After reading it, Cui Han's face became even darker. This idiot left so many handles behind when doing things, how could he protect himself!
The contract that Manager Liu specially prepared in advance became the most direct and effective evidence, and he could not deny it even if he wanted to.
In the face of overwhelming evidence, Cui Han had no choice but to cover up for him.
According to the laws of the State of Yan, anyone who obtains property by fraudulent means shall be punished with one hundred strokes of the cane.
Huang Furen saw that the county magistrate's face was almost as black as the bottom of a pot, and when he saw him speechless, he couldn't help but feel happy.
"If the County Magistrate insists that this is a misunderstanding, I have a solution. If Shopkeeper Liu can do it, I will let it go, and we can both be happy."
Cui Han raised one eyebrow and asked suspiciously, "Oh? Tell me what method you have."
Shopkeeper Liu, standing nearby, pricked up his ears when he heard that the matter could be dropped. Before Huang Furen could even tell him what to do, he started yelling.
"I'll do it! I'll do it! Anything is fine!" He didn't want to be beaten with a hundred sticks. With his physique, a hundred sticks would kill him!
Huang Furen looked at him with a half-smile and said slowly, "If Shopkeeper Liu can give me these twenty ginseng plants, I, Huang, will forgive you and buy them at the agreed price. How do you think?"
Shopkeeper Liu suddenly became depressed, like a dumb person eating bitter herbs, unable to express his pain!
He did have wild ginseng, but not in such great quantities, ten at most. Furthermore, the price he had set was deliberately low, intended to be a trap. The wild ginseng he had was far from worth the price he had offered!
If he were asked to sell the ginseng at a low price, wouldn't that be like cutting off one's own flesh and blood?
Shopkeeper Liu finally felt what it felt like to be trapped in one's own web.
Besides, if he had these twenty ginsengs, why didn't he take them to the capital to sell them himself, instead letting others make a profit for free.
But between the two options of cutting flesh and losing his life, he finally chose to hand over the wild ginseng in his hand.
"I, I have ten wild ginseng plants. I'll give them all to you at this price!" He begged, "Boss Huang, please be magnanimous and forgive me."
A smile appeared on Huang Furen's lips. Although wild ginseng is rare, it is produced in greater abundance in Qingshan than in other places. He knew that this guy must have some, and the quantity was far beyond his expectations. He originally thought that it would be great if Shopkeeper Liu had five or six plants, but he didn't expect that he had ten.
But he is not a pushover. If others bully or humiliate him, he will repay them in full, if not a hundredfold.
"Manager Liu, your calculations don't seem very good. The contract clearly states twenty wild ginseng plants. How come it became ten when it came to you?" Huang Furen had no intention of letting it go.
“Alright, alright!”
A large crowd gathered at the door, chattering loudly, and Cui Han was getting annoyed. Today's incident had become so serious that if he couldn't handle it properly, it might affect the achievements he had worked so hard to build, and his term was about to end. He couldn't afford any mistakes.
"Shopkeeper Liu sold Huang Furen ten wild ginseng plants as promised. The remaining ten plants will be used as a reward for fifty lashes. Do you two have any objections?"
Shopkeeper Liu never expected that after so many years of filial piety, he would end up being treated unfairly.
He sneered in his heart, thinking that these corrupt officials were indeed ungrateful and could never be tamed.
But he didn't show it on his face, and he still had to express his gratitude: "Thank you for your kindness, sir."
Fortunately, he should still be able to withstand fifty lashes of the cane. If he could get the torturer to relax, then the suffering would be painless. Not knowing how much pain he would experience, he was still secretly making his own calculations.
Huang Furen achieved his goal, so naturally there was no objection.
"Your Excellency is wise!"
Cui Han really didn't want to get entangled with these people any more, so he randomly appointed a yamen runner to carry out the execution. After giving the order, he flicked his sleeves and hid in the back hall to find some free time.
The yamen runners who were called out for their lives were shaking with their hands when they picked up the sticks.
Not afraid.
It's exciting.
When he was ten years old, his father fell seriously ill. At that time, the town of Qingkang had been squeezed out and only Xing'antang was left as a pharmacy. If you wanted to see a doctor at Xing'antang, you had to pay five taels of silver first.
He borrowed money from all his relatives and neighbors, and after saving for a month, he finally managed to scrape together five taels of silver.
He took his father to the hospital with five taels of silver, but was turned away because they had raised the price. In less than a month, they raised it to ten taels of silver.
Despite his desperate pleas, the shopkeeper Liu of Xing'antang remained unmoved. He even sent people to drive them away, disliking their presence at the door and affecting their business.
During the scuffle, the father, who was already in poor health, fell to the ground. He gradually lost his breath while crying and died outside the gate of Xing'antang.
This incident is a pain that he will never forget in his life.
He ignored the silver handed to him by Shopkeeper Liu, with tears in his eyes, and struck down with sticks, using all his strength, with no intention of letting anyone off the hook.
Manager Liu didn't expect that the bailiff was so tactless and was so cruel that he screamed in pain.
As the sticks fell one after another, Manager Liu still had the strength to shout a few words at first, but then he gradually became silent.
The yamen runner mercilessly struck me with a stick while fiercely wiping away the unshed tears. "Dad, do you see? This is my revenge for you."
After being beaten with fifty sticks, Shopkeeper Liu was left with only a faint breath.
When Zhao Qingyue heard that his sister had entered the county government office, he hurried over from the academy.
"Are you okay?"
He carefully looked at Zhao Mingsheng from head to toe, and only breathed a sigh of relief after confirming that she was not missing a single hair.
The teacher recently assigned him an essay, and he had been working non-stop in the academy for two days and two nights. But when someone told him that they saw Zhao Mingsheng entering the county government office, he immediately dropped the book in his hand and almost ran to the county government office.
Zhao Mingsheng felt a little distressed when he saw the bruises under his eyes.
"I'm fine, but brother, while studying is important, you should also pay attention to your health."
She was secretly thinking about giving Zhao Qingyue some nourishment. He had recently been preparing for the Autumn Examination, and he looked quite a bit thinner.
Just as he was thinking about it, Liu Qichang, the son of Manager Liu, also arrived late.
To be more precise, he was carried all the way here by a servant. His face was still red from drinking, his steps were unsteady, and he looked drunk.
When she passed by Zhao Mingsheng, she brought with her a pungent scent of powder, as if it was some paradise on earth she had just come from.
When he was brought here by the servant, he started to act like a spoiled brat, cursing and swearing. But when he saw his father's torn wounds, Liu Qichuang's legs softened and he knelt down, sobering up.
"Dad! How did you get injured like this?"
Liu Qichuang used all four legs and crawled onto Manager Liu, hugged him and burst into tears.
After being beaten with fifty boards, Shopkeeper Liu collapsed on the ground like a pile of mud. Before he could recover, he felt that some blind creature was pressing down hard on his wound, and the pain was so severe that he almost passed out.
The wailing sound beside his ears reminded him that this blind guy was none other than his good son.
Shopkeeper Liu said weakly:
"You...you get up...are you going to crush your father to death..."
Only then did Liu Qichuang realize that he had accidentally pressed on his father's injured area, and he quickly jumped away.
Shopkeeper Liu felt another sharp pain from his movement, and he couldn't even groan.
Liu Qichang was completely panicked and could do nothing but cry.
Perhaps the crying was too noisy, so he actually called Manager Liu back.
"I... I'm not dead yet! Why are you crying?" He ordered with his last breath: "Hurry up and find someone to carry me back to Xing'an Hall for treatment..."
Liu Qichuang finally woke up as if from a dream, and quickly ordered his servants to carry the person away.
The matter came to an end. Huang Furen was very grateful to Zhao Mingsheng for his help. He bowed and said, "Thank you very much for this time."
As he said this, he was about to bow deeply to her.
Zhao Mingsheng couldn't bear the courtesy from his elders, so he quickly dodged to the side.
"Uncle Huang, there's no need to be so polite. Sister Huang and I hit it off right away. Helping you today is just a small matter, not worth mentioning."
Huang Yuexin was so moved after hearing these words that she almost cried. It turned out that she was not the only one who was wishful thinking, but she also meant so much to Sister Zhao.
She reached out her hand from her sleeve, held Zhao Mingsheng's hand and was reluctant to let go.
Huang Furen liked this girl more and more. She was neither humble nor arrogant, polite and modest. He nodded involuntarily, feeling lucky that his daughter could make such a friend.
Even the young man next to her looked much more pleasing to the eye. He looked very handsome. When he heard that he was Zhao Mingsheng's brother, he immediately went forward to talk to him.
Liu Qichuang, who was busy directing his men to carry someone, turned his head when he heard a familiar voice.
At a glance, he saw Zhao Mingsheng, who was looking around and smiling, and Zhao Qingyue, who was standing tall and handsome beside her.
He instantly understood who was responsible for the suffering his father had endured today, and immediately his eyes were glaring: "It's you who did this!"
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